Psychodynamic Theory Analysis

994 Words4 Pages
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEO Psychodynamic Theories Mike Smith, Christine Smith, Arvan Thompson, Marcy Rigsby PSY/405 Dr. Dave Brueshoff October 17, 2011 Psychodynamic Theories The first psychoanalytic theory was conceived by Sigmund Freud (Meyers, 2007). This was the basis for what we have today regarding psychodynamic personality theories. Sigmund Freud’s contribution to this theory includes his thoughts on the stages of psychosexual development, conscious and unconscious minds, and defense mechanisms. This made way for other great psychologists to offer contributions to psychodynamic personality theories, like Alfred Adler’s individual psychological theory, Melanie Klein’s object relations theory, Carl Jung’s analytical psychology theory, and finally, Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory. In this analysis we will look at two specific parts of analyzing psychodynamic theories. First we will discuss how psychodynamic theories affect individual personalities and finally we will explain how psychodynamic theories influence interpersonal relationships. Psychodynamic Theories Affect Individual Personalities All of the psychodynamic theories mentioned in this paper lean more to the side of being limited rather than having strength, primarily in regard to the development and effects of individual personality. A dissimilar outlook exists on the definition of personality, the driving force behind development, cause and effect, and what exactly influences it and whether it can be altered. The psychodynamic theories consist mainly of Alder’s individual psychological theory, Horney’s psychoanalytical social theory, Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, Klein’s object relations theory, Sullivan’s interpersonal theory, and Jung’s analytical theory (Feist & Feist, 2009). One may view these theories as less similar than they
Open Document